Learning to Fall
by paintmyworld11
Summary: Set during Eclipse; BellaxJacob
1. Chapter 1

Learning to Fall

_Someone is waiting, someone who understands exactly how you feel. Someone is dreaming, someone is hoping just that this will be the day, that you take your eyes off the ground—out of the blue—and see that someone is looking right back at you. Maybe that someone's me, maybe it's meant to be lovers, strangers, sometimes bombs fall quietly… Maybe it's hard to see that someone is the right one, well I hope that someone is me._

Jacob Black was sitting in his tiny, yellow kitchen, eating a sandwich and chewing his bites with a careful thoughtfulness. His mind was obviously somewhere else, or more correctly, _with_ someone else. Bella Swan. The quirky, clumsy, beautiful girl-not-so-next-door, who was also his best friend and, ironically enough, in love with his natural enemy. Thinking of that bloodsucker was enough to boil Jacob's blood, but especially now since he had caught wind of Edward's plans to change Bella and give her a fate so horrible, it was worse than death. Of course, sweet, innocent, (and sometimes naïve) Bella didn't know what she was to become. She didn't understand the severity and permanence of being changed into one of _them_. She wouldn't even be Bella anymore: her bloodlust would control her every move, every thought. What was Jacob supposed to do if she ever hurt someone, or worse, killed them? It was his job, (his birthright, actually) to protect anything and everything from the vampires: any vampire that ever bit a human—bite, not kill—would break the treaty and war would start. Lives would be lost, blood would be shed, and the careful balance of the vampires and werewolves co-existing would be shattered. And yet, if Bella ever killed anyone, Jacob could not see himself being able to destroy her… but, it wouldn't be up to him. If he couldn't do it, someone else in the pack would—for the sake of the lives of the innocent.


	2. Chapter 2

Learning to Fall

_Girl, you are like summer rain; soft and warm and delicate. And I am a foolish boy- trying to catch every drop of you on my tongue, but there's just too many and I can't get enough. You're inches from my fingertips, I've come as close as I can get. I'm reaching, but the rest is up to you. 'Cause I don't ever want to miss, being here with you like this; I'm trying but it's all that I can do… I'm reaching but the rest is up to you._

The soft pitter-patter of rain woke Bella gently, and she opened slowly opened and adjusted her eyes to her room, which was half-way lit up by the gloomy sky outside. Slowly, but surely, she had gotten used to the weather in Forks—and dare she say it—even liked it. It was comfortable, like form fitting, worn in shoes. Cringing as her feet hit the cold hardwood floors, she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Somehow, even through her sleepy haze, she managed to pour her Cheerios into a bowl and get the milk- although she almost missed the messy writing scrawled out on the back of last month's electric bill, taped to the refrigerator door.

_Bella,  
Went fishing with Billy. I'll be back around 7.  
Charlie_

Charlie's lack of words didn't bother Bella—in fact, she was incredibly grateful. With Renee, every silence had to be filled with meaningless babble, and Bella had often found herself exhausted in trying to keep up. With Charlie, silence was welcome and relaxing—words weren't needed. They understood each other well enough.

Just as Bella had finished her breakfast and had rinsed out her bowl, a light rap on the door signaled a visitor. Bella, though, already knew who it was and more or less mumbled out an invitation to come inside, before flopping down onto the cool leather couch. Edward Cullen, her…fiancée… strolled through the door easily and confidently, with a small smile on his face.

"Hello, love." He smoothly floated over to Bella and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. She recoiled from the touch of his lips; cool as ice, hard as stone, and much too cold for this already crisp morning. Before he could notice, Bella quickly placed a smile onto her face and looked into the eyes of the man she loved, at least for a second, before a yawn overtook her. "Didn't you get a good night's sleep?" The concerned, golden eyes burned into hers and for a second, she vaguely remembered when just his smile could make her heart beat as fast as a hummingbird's wings. She'd remembered being frequently dazzled and surprised by him, but recently, their relationship had gotten a little monotonous. Not only that, even though she felt bad at the time about it, she had told him she wanted to sleep alone for a while, just until the wedding. She had made up some excuse about not having enough self control around him or not wanting to disobey Charlie's rules since she was moving out soon, but the truth was, she was getting a little tired of him. Not that she wanted him to leave,—it still hurt to think about that—she was just getting a little overwhelmed with having him around all the time. "Bella?"

"Oh right, sorry. Um, I'm not quite sure why I'm tired. It's probably just the gloomy weather getting to me." I shrugged my shoulders and sat up, trying to look more interested and awake than I actually was. "Well, any plans for today?" Hopefully, some kind of adventure was planned,—even with the rain— otherwise, it would appear boredom would be the chief emotion of the day. Thinking of adventures evoked an old memory in her that included a beautiful meadow, Edward revealing his sparkling skin for the first time, and the emotions that came with falling in love. She immediately shifted her thoughts, since thinking of the meadow made her nostalgic and sad. It had been months since they had even visited the meadow, and when she saw it again, it didn't seem as beautiful or perfect as the first time it was unveiled.

"Not particularly, love. As you mentioned, the weather is not ideal for _adventures_," he smirked teasingly at the word, "and I wouldn't want you to come down with something—especially this close to the wedding." Of course. Bella's shoulders slumped in the bitter disappointment of knowing nothing of any interest would happen during the day, because—as always—Edward's word was law, and nothing would change his mind. Mere months ago, she would have enjoyed, even _loved_, spending the entire day with him, doing absolutely nothing except talking- but ever since he had gotten back from Italy, things with Edward had been a bit bland. Only in the safety and darkness of the late night would she entertain the possibility that, compared to the things Jacob and her would do, Edward's ideas of fun were entirely too dull. Motorcycle riding, cliff diving, looking for a meadow, without knowing exactly where it was; these were all exhilarating and freeing. Spending the day talking about how society was two hundred years ago, and where it all fell apart? Not so much. Especially when Edward had gone to so many places, seen more than she would ever see, and knew so many things, how was she supposed to keep up? He had read thousands of books about great philosophers and their ideas, and had probably even talked to a few, while her knowledge was limited to the books on her bookshelf, and whatever she may have seen in Forks or Phoenix. His knowledge greatly conquered hers, even if Bella read more than the any other teenager she knew. Not to mention, anytime she asked about something she didn't completely understand, he would give sort of a half sigh and then explain it—all the while, talking like she was a four year old, bothering him with mundane topics and questions like, "Why is grass green?".

"How about the meadow?" Hopefulness seeped into Bella's voice, as she eagerly waited for him to respond, begging silently to get out of the house and avoid the torture of listening to Edward talk about Bastaille and Kristeva.

"It's raining." He deadpanned. Both of them looked at each other with blank eyes, before awkwardly turning away and looking in different directions. The uneasiness in the air was palpable and their backs were both rigid from being so uncomfortable.

"A movie?"

"I wouldn't want to sit through that garbage, let alone pay for it, but if you want to…"_ Wow, way to throw that guilt trip in there, _Bella thought to herself. Annoyance was starting to seep into her veins, infecting every inch of her small body. _Why couldn't we do what I wanted to, for once?_

"The library?" _Even sitting quietly in a library would be more interesting than listening to you go on about things I don't care about._

"Don't you have enough books here? Or we could get some from my house?" He retorted looking at me with what he apparently thought was an innocent expression. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to figure out if he was being difficult on purpose, or if he couldn't even see how desperate I was to do _anything_. The worst part was his house had its own library, filled with more books than the Forks one could ever hold, giving me no way to refuse. I sighed and stood up as I silently nodded a confirmation that we could go to his house. Heading to the bathroom to shower and change, I knew that at least Edward's family would be there and hopefully they would offer some form of fun.


End file.
